Shuffleboard court surface having multiple pimples for sliding a disc

ABSTRACT

A molded polymeric shuffleboard court has multiple closely spaced apart primary squares containing multiple secondary squares having open center portions to form a top surface for movement of a sliding disc. The secondary squares have an upwardly directed integrally molded pimple at each corner to reduce friction caused by the sliding disc.

PRIOR APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/868,647, filed on Jun. 14, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a shuffleboard court. More particularly, it refers to a shuffleboard court having a top surface containing upwardly directed pimples for enhancing the speed of discs moving over the top surface.

Shuffleboard courts have existed for many years to provide enjoyment for players at both indoor and outdoor sites as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,228,692. As a disc slides over a shuffleboard court, a bottom surface of the disc is in frictional engagement with the top surface of the shuffleboard court. Previously, the top surface of shuffleboard courts have been waxed or have contained small holes or perforations to reduce friction and enhance the ability of elderly players to easily slide a disc from the start line to the scoring triangle. Although friction is reduced by waxing and manufacturing small perforations in the top surface, a disc still exerts considerable friction in moving over the shuffleboard court surface. Currently, the International Shuffleboard Association has not approved any polymeric shuffleboard courts for tournament play because of the friction problem. A need exists for a still further reduction in such friction in order for a shuffleboard polymeric court to be approved by the International Shuffleboard Association for tournament play.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides a reduced friction shuffleboard court top surface. The shuffleboard court is made from a hardened molded polymeric material, preferably, polypropylene. The top surface has multiple molded primary geometric squares closely spaced apart. Included within the primary squares are multiple secondary squares having open centers and four corners. Each corner has an integrally molded upwardly directed pimple to create a slightly raised surface for the shuffleboard court.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be best understood by those having ordinary skill in the art of shuffleboard courts by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shuffleboard court typically employed with the subject invention.

FIG. 2 is a broken off portion of a shuffleboard court showing the pimples on the top surface.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the shuffleboard court containing the pimples on various surface pieces.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the shuffleboard court surface containing the pimples.

FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the shuffleboard court.

FIG. 6 is a sectional side elevation along line 6-6 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6A is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Throughout the following detailed description, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements in all figures.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the shuffleboard court 10 has right 12 and left 14 side edges and raised front edge 16 and back edge 18. The shuffleboard court top surface 20 has a front 22 and back 24 indicia representing scoring triangles. The major portion of surface 20 is made up of multiple primary square sections 26.

Referring to FIGS. 2-3, the shuffleboard court top surface 20 is made up of the primary square sections 26 spaced apart by groove 42 and side edge sections 28. Each top surface 20 is formed from multiple contiguous secondary smaller square portions 30 within the larger sections 26 and adjacent side edge sections 28. Each of the four corners of secondary square portion 30 contain a raised pimple 32 shown more clearly in FIG. 6. As seen in FIGS. 2-5, there are nine rows of nine secondary squares 30, totaling 81 within each larger section 26.

A group of sections 26 shown in FIGS. 2-4 make up the predominant part of shuffleboard court 10 shown in FIG. 1. Edges of sections 26 contain latches 34 which connect with openings 36 in other sections 26 so that the various sections are retained juxtaposed together. The underside 38 shown in FIG. 5 contains pegs 40 which support the playing surface 20.

A molded together group of nine primary sections 26 snap together with a like group by inserting latches 34 in corresponding openings 36. The completed polymeric shuffleboard court 10, as seen in FIG. 1, has reduced friction generated by a disc sliding over surface 20 containing the pimples 32.

As seen in FIGS. 4-6, a primary square 26 contains multiple secondary squares 30. The secondary squares have raised pimples at each corner which are molded with the secondary squares as one integral unit. Preferably, the polymer employed is polypropylene of sufficient hardness to withstand the weight of a person walking on the shuffleboard top surface. Edges 28, as seen in FIG. 3, contain the secondary squares molded integrally together as a unit with the raised pimples 32 at each corner. The edges 28 are latched to an edge of a primary square, as seen in FIG. 3.

Equivalent elements can be substituted for the elements disclosed above to provide substantially the same results in substantially the same way. 

1. A molded polymeric shuffleboard court comprising a top surface configured as a grid, the grid structure substantially consisting of multiple closely spaced apart primary squares, each primary square consisting of multiple juxtaposed secondary squares, each secondary square having four corners with an open center portion, a raised pimple integrally molded at all four corners of each secondary square whereby there is decreased friction generated by a disc sliding over the top surface.
 2. The molded polymeric shuffleboard court improvement according to claim 1, wherein the polymer is polypropylene.
 3. The molded polymeric shuffleboard court according to claim 1, wherein nine primary squares are molded together as an integral piece.
 4. The molded polymeric shuffleboard court improvement according to claim 3, wherein there are 81 secondary squares within each primary square.
 5. A molded polymeric shuffleboard court top surface comprising: a grid structure formed by mechanically joining multiple molded together primary squares with multiple secondary squares within each primary square, the secondary squares having an upwardly raised pimple molded as an integral portion at each corner of the secondary square throughout the shuffleboard court top surface to reduce friction generated by a disc sliding over the top surface.
 6. A molded polymeric shuffleboard court top surface comprising: a grid structure having side edges, the side edges enclosing multiple juxtaposed surface configurations, each square configuration having corners containing an integrally molded upwardly directed pimple.
 7. The molded polymeric shuffleboard court top surface according to claim 6, wherein the polymer is polypropylene.
 8. The molded polymeric shuffleboard court top surface according to claim 6, wherein there are 81 secondary squares within each primary square. 